Synthetic Strategies for Photosensitive Organic Diagnostics

分子识别在所有生物过程中都起着至关重要的作用：从核糖体将核糖体转化为蛋白质的分子机制，到一直处于新冠肺炎疫苗生产中心的抗体-抗原反应。许多这样的生物相互作用发生在大面积的表面积上，这些表面积经过了漫长的时间进化，以优化亲和力和特异性。能否利用有机合成的力量和创造力来生产出与大型生物制剂的精致识别特性相匹配的小分子？该项目将开发结构引导的合理设计的治疗相关靶点的合成受体，特别关注肿瘤学和淀粉样变性条件下的多肽和蛋白质表面识别。合成的受体将被展示在集成了中红外光子设备的薄膜聚合物载体上。由此产生的薄膜传感器将被调整为识别体液中低浓度的生化分析物，如唾液和血浆。长期目标是在临床环境中应用护理点生化分析。

Molecular recognition plays an essential role in all biological processes: from the molecular machinery of the ribosome that translates RNA into proteins, to the antibody-antigen response that has been at the centre of efforts to produce a Covid-19 vaccine. Many of these biological interactions occur over large surface areas that have evolved over vast periods of time to optimise both affinity and specificity. Can the power and creativity of organic synthesis be harnessed to produce small molecules that match the exquisite recognition properties of large biologics? This project will develop structure-guided rationally designed synthetic receptors of therapeutically relevant targets, with a particular focus on peptide- and protein-surface recognition in oncology and amyloidogenic degenerative conditions. The synthetic receptors will be displayed on a thin-film polymeric support integrated with a mid-IR photonic device. The resulting thin-film sensor will be tuned to recognise low concentrations of biochemical analyte in body fluids such as saliva and blood plasma. The long-term aim is application in clinical settings for point-of-care biochemical analysis.